The program celebrated chief resident, Dr. Hisami Oba, with a virtual baby shower at the end of February. Congratulations to Hisami and her husband on their new addition! 

As high-risk frontline personnel, Kaiser Permanente physicians and providers, including the KP Hawaii Internal Medicine residents, were among the first in Hawaii to receive the COVID-19 vaccination in December. 

Many year-end messages lament the 2020 that was.  Certainly the COVID pandemic has created uncertainty and doubt.   In my training and early practice, AIDS was the pandemic, and a large quilt was created to honor those who had died.  I have no doubt that a similar one perhaps fittingly virtual will honor the lives of COVID victims.  

In this message I choose to celebrate and honor 2020 and the potential that exists for 2021. 

• I celebrate the graduation of Drs. Matthew Chan, Jonathan Cho, and Hisami Oba from our program.
• I celebrate the addition of Drs. Kiana Choo Loy, Ethan Chun, Jennifer Foster, Helena Holmgren, and Jordan Jensen.
• I celebrate the service and contribution of Drs. Henry Lew and Valynn Pham -- our first home-grown Chief Residents.
• At the risk of bachi, I am grateful for our collective well-being.

Here's raising a cup o' kindness to 2020,

Mitch Motooka

We want to congratulate all of our graduates from the Kaiser Permanente ​Hawaii Internal Medicine Residency Program on a 100% pass rate ​in the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Certification Examination.  Their dedication to the practice of medicine is clearly demonstrated by this amazing achievement.  We are elated for all of them. ​Kaiser Permanente Hawaii is one of only 15% of Internal Medicine residency programs in the country to achieve a 100% pass rate among their graduates over the past 3 years.
 

Passing the ABIM Internal Medicine Certification Examination demonstrate​s​ that physicians have met rigorous standards and have the clinical judgment, skills and attitudes essential for the delivery of excellent patient care.  All residents are required to finish training on or before August 31 in order sit for the ABIM Internal Medicine Certification Examination.
 

The ABIM annually reports the cumulative pass rates across the three most recent certification examinations in internal medicine  for each internal medicine residency program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.  More information can be found here.

Congratulations to our internal medicine residents past and present!
 

Cheering, laughter, and Kool and the Gang’s “Celebration” reverberated throughout Mapunapuna Medical Office as the Kaiser Permanente Hawaii Internal Medicine Residency Program hosted its year-end banquet on June 13. This year’s celebration proved a program milestone in itself — as it connected four “banquet” rooms with more than 20 virtual attendees — in this “socially distanced” gala.

True to the banquet’s theme, Kūlia i ka nu‘u, the night was filled with celebration of how residents, graduates, faculty, and staff continue to “strive to reach the highest” both for the program and the members we care for. 

Program Director Mitch Motooka, MD (Internal Medicine), opened the night with the words, “While circumstances force us to be physically apart, we join together this evening for a unified purpose — to celebrate growth, achievement, resilience, and friendship.” Dr. Motooka acknowledged contributions of sponsors, program administration, faculty, residents, and staff.  After addressing graduates with an inspirational message of hope, Geoff Sewell, MD (President and Executive Medical Director), joined Dr. Motooka and Residency Program Executive Sponsor Samir Patel, MD (Associate Medical Director, Primary Care), to honor this year’s award recipients and graduates.
 

Faculty of the Year: Robert Hinz, MD (Hospital Medicine)	Intern of the Year (tie): C. Leigh Moyer, MD (PGY-1)	Intern of the Year (tie):  Ashley Morisako, MD (PGY-1)
Excellence in Research: Matthew Chan, MD (PGY-3)	Upper Level Resident of the Year & Program Director’s Spirit Award recipient: Hisami Oba, MD (PGY-3)	Co-Chief Residents: Henry Lew, MD (Hospital Medicine) & Valynn Chong, MD (Internal Medicine)

Back to Top 

Our five new internal medicine interns enter their residency training with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic serving as an extraordinary backdrop for their new learning environment.
 

“Entering residency during COVID-19 has been very different than what I initially prepared for, but I feel ready to take on this challenge,” said Kiana Choo Loy, MD, who attended Kamehameha Schools – Kapalama Campus and received her medical degree from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. “Being a part of the first ‘virtual’ white coat ceremony has served as a reminder that in tough times we can always figure out new ways to carry out our plans.”

Two of the five new residents, including Dr. Choo Loy, were raised in Hawaii. Ethan Chun, MD, attended Hawaii Baptist Academy and completed his medical degree at the St. Louis University School of Medicine.  “I knew that in the long run, I wanted to return to Hawaii to practice medicine and care for the community that had invested so much in me,” said Dr. Chun. “During the interview process, I truly got the sense that this system is made up of people who treat each other like family and want to live out Kaiser Permanente’s mission to provide innovative, high-value, holistic, and compassionate care.”

This is the first residency class in which all five residents hail from medical schools on the mainland. Helena Holmgren, MD, spent some of her early childhood in Sweden. She earned her medical degree at Northeast Ohio Medical University.  “With my husband working in Hawaii, I had the opportunity to do several clinical rotations here and had a wonderful experience building connections with patients and the community,” said Dr. Holmgren. “I’m excited to be part of an organization that emphasizes patient care, especially preventive care, and has an uplifting and positive physician culture.”

Under Program Director Mitch Motooka, MD, the interns experience a combination of learning environments, including didactic learning sessions and clinical training at various KP clinics and Moanalua Medical Center.  “As my interest in medicine grew, I became drawn to tropical medicine and infectious disease,” said Jennifer Foster, DO, who hails from Colorado and graduated from the Midwestern University Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine. “I felt that Hawaii would be the ideal place to cultivate my interests and have an adventure at the same time.”

Jordan Jensen, MD, who is the grandson of two doctors, a general surgeon and a cardiologist – and also one of 8 siblings – spent a portion of his life in the Philippines, where his grandparents practiced in the mountains of Ifugao for more than 40 years.  “My grandparents modeled selfless service and dedication on medical missions to the tribal provinces of our home country,” said Dr. Jensen – a graduate of the University of Missouri, Columbia School of Medicine. “They dedicated their lives to the education of native people, teaching them primary health care so they might be empowered to help themselves, their families, and their neighbors.”

Back to Top 

Greetings.  It is my sincere hope that this message reaches you in good health and security.  The COVID-19 pandemic has created uncertainty and challenges to all of our lives, and its impact will be far reaching and lasting.  This global medical crisis has served to underscore the importance of our continued commitment at Kaiser Permanente Hawaii to train competent and compassionate physicians who are skilled to deliver quality health care in a fast-changing world. 

March 20, 2020 was Match Day, a time-honored celebration with classmates, mentors, family, and friends.  While circumstances dictated a far different event, I was able to perform the same happy task this Match Day that I have done every year as Program Director.  I cheerfully called our five incoming first-year residents who matched to our program.  On behalf of their fellow residents, our faculty & staff, and our administrative team, I excitedly welcomed Kathryn "Kiana" Choo Loy, Ethan Chun, Jennifer Foster, Helena Holmgren, and Jordan Jensen.  They in turn are eager to begin the next phase in their medical training.

For everything there is a season, and, as we welcome our incoming class, we also bid farewell to our graduating seniors.  They too will be sent off with far less pomp than we had planned.  But, happily, their forwarding addresses will not be too far away.  Dr. Matthew Chan will be our newest primary care physician at our Honolulu Medical Office Building, and Dr. Hisami Oba will be our Chief Resident for the 2020-2021 academic year.  Congratulations, Matt and Hisami!  I also wish to thank Dr. Henry Lew and Dr. Valynn Chong for their services as co-Chief Residents this past year.

Finally, at the end of this academic year Dr. Linda Kuribayashi, our Designated Institutional Official, will retire.  It is my honor to represent all who are associated with the program in expressing our sincere gratitude for her service as our first DIO and to wish her the best in her newest chapter in life.  

Stay safe & stay well,

Mitch Motooka

Back to Top 

For February’s Grand Rounds, PGY2 residents highlighted the vital role system I and system II thinking plays in clinical decision-making. Tarquin Collis, MD (AMD, Medical Specialties; Chief, Infectious Disease) and Henry Lew, MD (Chief Resident, Inpatient) served as guest presenters–Dr. Collis shared valuable clinical pearls regarding extrapulmonary tuberculosis and Dr. Lew performed a POCUS demonstration.

Residents engage in improvement work and influence positive change to health care outcomes at the American College of Physicians (ACP) Hawaii Chapter’s Annual Scientific Meeting where several of our residents were accepted for poster presentations.

“The contributions made by our residents to the ACP Scientific Meeting, Grand Rounds, and other continuous improvement initiative are valuable elements in their journey to becoming a proficient provider.  As a provider, improvement work is key to advancing health care outcomes and quality of care among our patients and communities.”

-        Associate Program Director KPHI IM Residency, Philip Verhoef, MD, PhD

Back to Top 

Every year on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Hawaii Permanente Medical Group (HPMG) hosts their Annual Day of Service in partnership with multiple community organizations throughout the state. This year, the KPHI IM Residents worked at Kako‘o ‘Oiwi  located on the Winward side of Oahu. It is nonprofit organization based on a 405-acre site in the He‘eia wetlands that helps to promote educational programs, ecological restoration, and sustainable agriculture across this important division of the ahupua‘a. The residents worked and interacted with students from the John A. Burns School of Medicine and Nanakuli High School. Together, they helped in the cultivation and restoration of the lo‘i patches.

Back to Top

Back to Top